Chronicle/Comment: Recap of Time Off, Preview of Upcoming Events...

Okay, as I might have suspected, it's taking longer than I anticipated to recover from my little vacation. I spent the weekend here at my baby sister's wedding, which was completely wonderful and exhausting, as weddings tend to be, and even more so because the weekend involved hiking, rafting, dressing up in bridesmaid clothes, and many meetings of new family members over huge meals. I'm back in Brooklyn, but still gathering my wits, so bear with me for a bit.

I hope you've enjoyed the spirited exchange on the American Booksellers Association and the Booksense programs that's been happening here in my absence, starring Dave, Andy, Carl, and a few other brave souls willing to jump into the fray. I hope there's been a bit of learning from each other happening, as well as an articulation of our own positions. I would encourage anyone who has opinions on these matters to share your thoughts with the ABA leadership. You can find them by going to the ABA website, www.bookweb.org (which also has information that may answer many questions) and clicking on "Feedback" at the top right. And I'd love to hear from you too!

I've got lots of things I want to post about in the next few weeks -- the trick will be finding time between activities to write about those activities. In all optimism, here are a few of the things I'd like to address:

- Chronicle: an account of my fascinating visit to Voices & Visions Books in Philadelphia a few weeks ago, and my business chat with proprietor Angela Roach

- Chronicle: account of my upcoming Day In The Life visit to Good Yarns Books in Hastings-On-Hudson, and perspectives from manager Amanda Lydon

- Reviews: I'm behind on writing up my reading by at least 4 books, and there may be more by the time I get to them...

- Comment: the role and potential of regional trade associations, centered on the upcoming New Atlantic Booksellers Association fall trade show (September 15-16)

- Comment: a look at the upcoming Brooklyn Book Festival (September 16), and thoughts about the Hotel ABA Brooklyn

- Comment: Publisher blogs, and other new book blogs worth noting

And hey, if there are other things you'd like to see me write about, let me know! This will probably keep me busy through September at least. Hopefully I can clear the August condensation off my brain and get started. Stay cool out there, and look for more content soon!

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